Given the acclaim and continued popularity of the World War II miniseries, there is still the question of, “How accurate is Band of Brothers in its depiction of these real-life soldiers and the battles they fought?” The series is based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s book of the same name, which compiles interviews, stories, and testimonies from the real soldiers who were part of Easy Company. In this way, the accuracy of Band of Brothers can be attributed to the actual men who lived the events occurring on-screen.
Although Band of Brothers is famous for its accuracy, it still doesn’t get everything right. World War II buffs have certainly poked holes through the series’ uniforms, weapons, and other small military details. However, beyond the minutiae, there are also a few major mistakes that Band of Brothers made in their portrayal. These mishaps are serious because of how they misrepresent certain characters and events or take away from the impact of the story. They are both mistakes and creative liberties that harm the integrity of the series.
10 Private Cobb’s Story Is Changed
Cobb’s Portrayal Isn’t Entirely Accurate
In the episode “The Last Patrol,” the series features Private Cobb verbally assaulting Sergeant Martin. This, however, isn’t actually one of the events that led to his discharge. Instead, he physically assaulted Lieutenant Foley when inebriated. That is what led to his court-martial, but Cobb didn’t actually end up discharged until after the war was over.
Cobb is also characterized as someone who is bitter and caustic. That’s not how those who actually knew and served with him would categorize him though. Instead, memoirs from soldiers like Private Webster intimated that Cobb was very friendly with other soldiers outside of that isolated incident.
The series also leaves out part of his service record. While many of the soldiers discuss where they were before ending up in Easy Company, it’s never mentioned in the show that he fought in Operation Torch in Africa. He was with the 1st Armored Division there just one year before joining Easy Company and his ship for the return journey was sunk by a German torpedo.
9 Password Rotation Is Inaccurate
Password Rotation Was Necessary To Prevent Infiltration
There are a lot of small details in the miniseries that could be overlooked when it comes to procedural details. The average audience member, for example, might not realize that saluting with the left hand is a sign of distress even though characters use their left hand in the movie as though it is normal. Some procedural details were overlooked, however, that were important to the timeline of events in the movie.
For example, passwords among units were rotated out every three days after D-Day. It was a way to make sure soldiers hadn’t been compromised and that if intelligence did get out, those exchanging passwords would know. When Blithe encounters Speirs following D-Day, the passwords that are used in the scene are already obsolete. Flash-Thunger was only used on D-Day. The next three days used a different password, and then days four through six used another, etc. The use of the wrong password implies the wrong amount of time passing.
8 Band of Brothers Featured A German Jagdpanther In “Carentan”
The Equipment Shown In Episode 3 Would Not Have Been Used Here
The wrong vehicles or weapons being used in a war epic might not be noticed by the average person. They will, however, be noticed by those with an interest in history or the war in question.
In reality, a Jagdpanther would not have appeared there
Though this detail could be categorized as a minor error in the grand scheme of the series, it’s one that is repeated often when discussing what Band of Brothers got wrong about World War II. During Band of Brothers’ Battle of Carentan in episode 3, the counter-attack shows a Jagdpanther, a World War II tank destroyer, as part of the Germans’ forces. In reality, a Jagdpanther would not have appeared there. The tanks were only used late in the Battle of Normandy, and additionally, the closest ones at the time of Carentan were in the Germany 654th Heavy Antitank Battalion.
7 German Colonel Surrenders To Major Winters
The Real Winter Kept A Token Of The Surrender And Noted A Striking Detail
In Band of Brothers’ final episode, “Points,” Major Winters has an interaction with a German soldier that was much more interesting in real life. On-screen, the unnamed German colonel offers Winters a Luger as a show of his surrender. Winters tells the man to keep his sidearm, showing his respect for the enemy soldier. It’s a way to highlight Winters’ character.
However, the real Major Winters kept the gun, which was a Walther PP pistol. Furthermore, he realized that the gun had never been fired during the German soldier’s time in the war, a detail that didn’t appear in the show. This makes the gun more dynamic and symbolic. However, Band of Brothers focused more on Winters’ respectability than what the gun truly meant. Adding in just one more moment to show that the other man had never fired his gun during the war would have made for a more interesting reveal.
6 Band Of Brothers Fails To Flesh Out Anna’s Story
The Series Cannot Serve All Supporting Players
…there are some characters who could have been better served by the series.
Even though Band of Brothers is able to get into more character detail as a series instead of a movie, there are some characters who could have been better served by the series. Their real stories don’t make it completely to the screen.
In the case of Anna, played by Rebecca Okot, she’s a Belgian nurse whose real name was Augusta Chiwy. She was actually much more heroic than she appeared in the series, having saved six wounded soldiers from the hospital bombing and perishing while trying to rescue a seventh. She did all of this despite there being a regulation for American armed forces at the time that stipulated Black nurses were not allowed to treat white soldiers.
Rumor has it that an army doctor spoke up for her, telling soldiers that they either allowed her to treat them or they would die.
5 Downplaying Malarkey’s Miraculous Story
The Truth Proved Too Unbelievable To Be Included In The Show
Part of Band of Brothers’ brilliance is the seemingly too-good-to-be-true stories it tells that unfold during the events of this major war. However, what happened to Easy Company was even more miraculous but was downplayed for believability. For example, Band of Brothers’ Malarkey forms a bond with a German prisoner of war after realizing they grew up in the same town.
The true story was even greater than the series painted it as though. Malarkey and the POW didn’t just grow up in the same town; they worked across the street from each other for many years before the war ever began. These small moments of connection help make people realize how small the world can really be, but the audience might have seen something like this as stretching the truth.
4 “Unnecessary Destruction Of Property”
Some Historians Dispute Such Orders Having Existed
Sometimes, Band of Brothers’ inaccuracies have nothing to do with facts but concern story and dialogue instead. One scene, in particular, was torn apart by a World War II historian who claimed that the dialogue is a Hollywood embellishment rather than a genuine scenario. In the scene, an Easy Company soldier tells a British tank commander to fire through a house to get a hidden German tank. However, the British soldier refuses, saying that he is prohibited from creating “unnecessary destruction of property.”
According to the historian, this type of conversation would never have actually happened. Not only did the order to not do property damage not exist, but British soldiers were just as likely to do damage as American soldiers. From the historian’s viewpoint, this scene is meant to portray the Americans as more “gung-ho” and “macho” whereas the British are more calm and restrained. In the end, this conversation is a false one that enforces stereotypes and decreases Band of Brothers’ accuracy.
3 Private Albert Blithe’s Fate
Blithe’s Death Took Place Decades After The Series Suggested
While Band of Brothers’ minor changes and mistakes can be somewhat overlooked, some depictions were simply too great to excuse. One of these is the fate of Private Albert Blithe. In Band of Brothers episode 3, Albert Blithe is introduced as a soldier struggling with shell shock. He bravely overcomes his fears during the Battle of Bloody Gulch only to be shot in the neck by a sniper days later. At the end of the episode, Band of Brothers states that Blithe eventually died from his injuries in 1948. This, however, was not true.
In reality, Blithe recovered from his severe wound, which was a shot to the collarbone or shoulder rather than the neck. More than that, Blithe later fought in the Korean War where he earned a Silver Star for gallantry in combat and was promoted to the rank of Master Sergeant. He married and had two children. Eventually, Blithe did die of a perforated ulcer in 1967, 20 years after the series stated. The reason for this mistake in Band of Brothers was due to the men of Easy Company losing touch with Blithe and assuming he had died.
Band of Brothers
won 7 Emmy Awards in 2002, a Golden Globe for Best Miniseries, and a Peabody Award in 2001.
2 First Lieutenant Norman Dike’s Cowardice
Dike Was A Decorated And Successful Leader
Another misrepresentation of a real World War II soldier is the portrayal of First Lieutenant Norman Dike in Band of Brothers. First and foremost, the series shows Dike as both incompetent and a coward. In the show, Dike is supposed to lead the attack on Foy but panics under pressure, leading to the unnecessary deaths of his own men. Due to his indecision, he is replaced by Lieutenant Spiers and is presumed dead from a later injury.
First Lieutenant Dike was an impressive soldier
Once again, this deadly fate is incorrect and worse, so is Dike’s cowardice. In reality, First Lieutenant Dike was an impressive soldier who had successfully led several attacks, even earning Bronze Stars in Uden and Bastogne. Though Dike did falter during the attack on Foy, it was because he had been injured, not ill-equipped. Dike even survived the battle and went on to serve in the Korean War as well. It seems that Dike’s negative portrayal was mostly a creative liberty meant to shine a light on Spiers.
1 The Date Of Hitler’s Death
The Significant Date In WWII Was Misrepresented In The Series
The most glaring mistake made by Band of Brothers is the incorrect date of Hitler’s death. In the ninth episode of the series, a title card reveals that the date is April 11th, 1945. German citizens clear up the town while the Easy Company remembers the horrors they found, including a concentration camp the Band of Brothers’ soldiers liberated.
At the end of the episode, Captain Lewis Nixon reveals that Hitler took his own life. This mistake is the worst of all because of its simplicity. Hitler did not actually die until April 30, 1945. It’s unclear how this mishap occurred, but its existence certainly marks down the series. All in all, even the most historically accurate series can make major mistakes when it comes to true events.
Truthfully, it seems nearly impossible to get every detail right and still maintain entertainment value and dramatic flair. While some of these Band of Brothers mistakes are more forgivable than others, they all act as a reminder that even the best content can struggle to capture everything accurately, but that certainly does not take away from how Band of Brothers changed TV forever.